Pod Taxi for Bengaluru: A reality or bubble?

Two US-based companies and a Singaporean firm have expressed interest in building the ambitious personal rapid transit (PRT) system that will have pod-like vehicles carrying passengers on elevated tracks.Bharath Joshi | ET Bureau | June 12, 2017, 08:49 IST

Two US-based companies and a Singaporean firm have expressed interest in building the ambitious personal rapid transit (PRT) system that will have pod-like vehicles carrying passengers on elevated tracks.

Going beyond its brief, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is anchoring the futuristic project to overcome last-mile connectivity issues in Bengaluru. Experts, meanwhile, have questioned the very feasibility of such a “big ticket“ project.

California-based skyTran, Minneapolis-based JPods Inc (through its Bengaluru subsidiary Actis Infrastructure) and Singapore-based Ultra Fairwood have submitted their 'expression of interest' to the civic body. ET was the first to report the civic body's plan to implement a PRT system for the city .

The civic body wants the PRT system to ferry 15,000 passengers per hour at a maximum speed of 100 kmph. Estimated to cost about Rs 50 crore per km, five stretches totalling up to 28.9 km have been proposed.“There is no government spending because it will be implemented on the design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) model,“ Prasad said.

skyTran, a Nasa technology partner, and Ultra are among three companies (Metrino being the other one) that have been given a go-ahead by the NITI Aayog to pilot pod car transport systems in India.

“For the city to have good last mile connectivity, the BBMP has to first fix footpaths and enable people to walk,“ said Srinivas Alavilli, a founding member of Citizens for Bengaluru, which campaigned against the Rs 1,800-crore steel flyover project. “Also, we don't know the environmental impact a big-ticket project like this will have.“

IISc transportation engineer Ashish Verma, who heads the Transportation Research Group of India, said buses are more feasible and economical for last-mile connectivity. “Pod taxi systems are operational only in amusement parks or airports. Our bus system is sufficient to carry 15,000 passengers per hour.“

But the companies argue that a PRT system is a necessity.“Transportation remains an unsolved problem across cities. What we offer is travel from point A to B in 20-25 minutes, which currently takes hours in Bengaluru,“ skyTran Asia vice-president Ankur Bhatnagar said. “The capacity of one line of skyTran is equal to three lanes of roads.“

JPods has claimed that a PRT system is cheaper than metro or monorail. Ultra Fairwood, which is also in talks with Amritsar, Gurgaon, Delhi and Mumbai, says PRT should become an integral part of India's urban development strategies.